100 wishes for Gator football: Days #89-85

Bob Redman

06/11/2015

Friday marks the 85th day before the kickoff of Jim McElwain’s first season at Florida. We started at 100 and got a little behind here, so we will catch up. This Gator team could use a few good wishes from Gator fans, so here are five more.

Wish #89: Cut back on the drops

The passing game was bad enough for the Florida Gators last year that they couldn’t afford any real physical errors. The appalling number of drops by the receivers reached a peak by game four when the team had 18 drops in just those games. Five a game is about as bad as you will see anywhere and it was all but an epidemic.

We do know that the receivers were on a steep learning curve a year ago and although at times a few of them showed they have talent, guys like Demarcus Robinson dropped way too many balls and it cost the team. These guys are basically a year older and did get better as the season went along. They need to be a lot better in 2015.

Wish #88: Stay away from linebacker injuries

The numbers at the linebacker position are low and for obvious reasons. In the last two yeas, Florida has signed just one linebacker. With that in mind, it is imperative for the Gators to stay healthy at linebacker.

The numbers aren’t dreadful. There are seven linebackers and really 8-9 is the number you are looking for. However, there are a lot of questions that remain about senior Antonio Morrison and his health returning from an injury. Add that to all the lack of experience in the group and you don’t want the better players to get hurt at all or there might be some real issues.

Wish #87: QB commit during the summer

This may seem like a strange wish for the season, but getting a quarterback committed before the season will take a lot of stress off of the recruiting process while the staff is trying to coach up the team in the fall.

The affect is multiplied within the class because getting that quarterback position filled usually helps with other positions. If the staff is trying to hold on to guys rather than recruit a handful at any position, it is just easier overall and makes for a much less stress filled fall as far as the recruiting goes.

Wish #86: Free from the police blotter

One really good thing that Will Muschamp was able to accomplish at Florida was to clean up the locker room and weed out the lawbreakers. While McElwain has experienced a couple of issues with players and the law in his first 6-7 months on the job, those numbers are very low compared to what was going on five years ago.

This wish needs to start now and carry through until the season starts, but staying free from all of the media scrutiny that comes with players breaking the law during the sea will lead ro a much more pleasant fall.

Wish #85: Surprise with uniforms

One thing I think we are getting from McElwain is that he wants to be a real player’s coach. Along those lines, I think he will and should let the players pick one game to find a nice new uniform look that won’t go too far in terms of deviating from the history of the uniform.

I for one am not that infatuated with what they wear when they play. I just want them to do well. But, I do understand there are a ton of fans that do care, want something ‘cool’ and the players even more so. I do think that the players will play better of they think they look better. Opening day would be a great time and they could surprise people by running out of the tunnel at game time after wearing more traditional during warm ups. The crowd would go nuts.